


Promise Me

by thechosentwo



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Awkward Crush, M/M, Mutual Pining, One Shot, Pre-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Underage Smoking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:21:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28440804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thechosentwo/pseuds/thechosentwo
Summary: Kiyotaka Ishimaru and Mondo Oowada have been at odds for three years. Now in the final stretch of their high school careers, they finally manage to have a moment of communication. It completely messes up Mondo's life, of course. Taka gets Mondo to quit smoking and Daiya teases him about it.
Relationships: Ishimaru Kiyotaka/Oowada Mondo
Comments: 1
Kudos: 110





	Promise Me

“I’m going outside for a minute, wanna come with?” Daiya held his pack of cigarettes out by way of explanation, speaking around the one already between his teeth. 

After a moment of pained deliberation, Mondo waved him off. He took a drink of his soda (spiked with rum- courtesy of Daiya’s pals) before answering. He jabbed his thumb over at the two guys in heated disagreement over the outcome of a super smash brothers’ game, “Nah, why you going outside anyway? These punks are already stinking up the place.”

Daiya laughed and stood up, pocketing the pack and trading it for a lighter. His friends booed playfully at Mondo and tossed trash at him. Mondo deflected it easily and grinned at them. Despite knowing he had to get up for school in the morning, Mondo didn’t want to go to bed yet. Chances to hang out with Daiya and the gang were fewer these days. Hope’s Peak had cut into his ride time most severely and it was only Daiya’s insistence that kept him going there. Playing hooky every now and then was fine, but he couldn’t let it affect his grades. It was an ultimate school for the ultimate biker, his brother would say, Mondo had to give it all he had if he wanted to take over the gang someday. 

“Come with me anyway, I need some fresh air,” Daiya caught him by the sleeve and drug him to his feet, then swept out the door expecting Mondo to follow on his heels. 

Mondo smoothed out his coat and frowned, pink tinging the tips of his ears. He made Daiya wait a few moments before giving him the satisfaction of appearing on the tiny balcony.

“What?”

There was silence for a few moments as the lighter flared. A red glow illuminated Daiya’s face. It looked more lined and rough in this light. Maybe that’s why movies always used it for their hard boiled detectives and dastardly crooks. Deeper shadows suggested something was hiding there. Maybe Mondo wasn’t the only one feeling stressed out lately. 

“What the hell’s going on with you, kid?” Daiya exhaled smoke over the edge of the guard rail. “You’ve been on edge the whole week, and you haven’t taken me up on a smoke break once.”

Despite knowing Daiya wouldn’t be able to see him, Mondo rolled his eyes at the question. “Geez, so I don’t fuckin’ feel like smoking lately and it’s some big emergency?”

“See, now you’re getting defensive, that’s what I’m fuckin talking about,” Daiya had Mondo in a headlock before he could react and he let out a shout of protest. “Fess up, what’s going on?” 

“Nothing I swear!”

Daiya tightened his grip and crunched up Mondo’s carefully styled pompadour. Mondo squirmed and tried to escape, but his older brother was still definitely the stronger out of the two of them. He thought about biting him, considering the damage to his hair was already done, but he didn’t feel like getting scraped off the pavement tonight. 

“Alright, alright! I’m just… I’m quitting smoking, is all,” he mumbled the last part, not dreading Daiya’s reaction so much as any further questions he might have.

“What’d you fucking say?”

“I said I’m fucking quitting!”

The look Daiya gave him was nothing short of incredulous. A fair reaction, all things considered. He'd been smoking since he was thirteen and too stupid to know better. Not that Daiya had helped. It was just part of what the gang did together. It was part of what he and Daiya did together. Sharing a cigarette on the balcony on late nights was the only time they really talked anymore about anything serious. The rest of the time was gang business and just normal banter. Giving up smoking probably meant giving all that up too. 

"What the hell are you talking about, Mondo?" Mondo winced at Daiya's tone. "I mean, I won't stop ya, I'm just confused I guess." 

This was the part he had been dreading. The "why?" and the inevitable explanation. He couldn't just leave it unanswered but the truth would be a lot for Daiya to swallow. He didn't want to put any more stress on their relationship than there already was. 

"I got tired of dealing with that damn hall monitor at school," Mondo said, "He's always on my ass about it and I'm sick of it."

Daiya frowned. "He's been on your ass since day one for a lot of shit. What made you care now after you're almost done with him?" 

Three years had gone by pretty quickly. Mondo glanced across the street, his gaze passing through the buildings there to where he would find Kiyotaka's address if he ever tried. He could feel his face heating up under Daiya's scrutiny. Their family had bad blood with Ishimaru’s a couple generations back. It was only natural considering their positions relative to one another. Kiyotaka and Mondo had lived up to that so far. Mondo wouldn't be surprised if Taka was the arresting officer that put him away someday, if the bastard ever managed to catch up to him. Conceding anything to a guy like that felt like weakness.

"What does it matter?" Mondo's volume rose with his blush. "I promised him I'd quit so I fucking quit, alright? Get off my back before I get sick of you too." 

Mondo realized a moment too late that he'd fucked up. Daiya's eyebrows shot up to his hairline as he took another puff of smoke. 

"A promise, huh?" Mondo wanted to wipe the smirk off his brother's face. "What made you go that far?" 

Huffing and flaring his nostrils, Mondo took a second to answer. His heart was racing. "I…”

______

"Mondo Owada, am I going to have to give you another citation?" Kiyotaka Ishimaru watched him with intense focus. 

A scowl was Mondo's only reply as he stood to leave the classroom. They were between periods, he was allowed to go out if he wanted. Taka's threat was empty and they both knew it. Mondo stalked through the door, quick to slide it shut behind him, the punctuation to his pointed silence. Unfortunately, the bang he had expected never came, and he turned around to see what the problem was. 

Mondo immediately jumped, "Why the hell are you following me, Ishimura?" He had to fight to keep his voice from cracking. 

The door he had just tried to slam was caught by Taka's hand, those red owl eyes staring him down through the opening. Taka's expression was as serious and unreadable as ever. Mondo was never sure what the guy was thinking. For all he could tell, Taka probably just played the school fight song on repeat in his head all day.

"I am escorting you, Mr. Owada," Taka said, cheerfully, "it seems the safest course of action to keep you out of trouble. I'll follow you anywhere!" 

Mondo just stared at Taka in disbelief before turning and striding down the hallways towards the bathroom. True to his word, Taka stayed on his heels the entire time. There was no way Mondo was going to get away with anything while Taka was insisting on accompanying him, so he'd just have to lose him somehow. Or… out of sight, out of mind? All Mondo really had to do was keep Taka from seeing him break a rule. That could be accomplished easily enough.

Hesitating outside the bathroom door, Mondo jumped inside and slammed the door shut, turning the lock before Taka could follow him in. 

"Hey!" Taka shouted from outside. "What was that for?" 

"See no evil, Ishimaru," Mondo said, pulling his lighter out and flicking it on. "Why does it matter to you so much anyway? Plenty of other delinquents you could be busting for chewing gum or speaking two decibels over the limit or whatever." 

"..." Silence. Mondo thought maybe Taka had given up or perhaps gone after a key from a teacher. But he continued a moment later, as straightforward as ever, "I want you to achieve your dreams, Owada."

Mondo choked on his inhale. "What?" 

"You want to take over your brother's gang someday right? I want you to achieve that," there was a light thump as Taka placed his palm on the door. "I would hate for something to keep you from that, like getting sick or being expelled. You have to take care of yourself, for your brother's sake!" 

Taka might have been a goody-two-shoes bootlicker, but he always said what he meant. It was the one thing Mondo respected about him. You could trust him to keep his word, and he wouldn't lie to you even if it benefitted him. Mondo scowled. It took him until now to say all that to him? It was almost sweet. It almost made up for the last three years of targeted harassment. It almost reminded Mondo that he'd had a crush on Taka their first month, before realizing the guy hated his guts. 

Grumbling to himself, Mondo put out his cigarette. "Fine."

"What was that?" Taka said. 

"I said fine," Mondo opened the door to face him, cheeks red. "I'll make you a promise as a man. I won't smoke anymore… until I graduate anyway. Then we'll see."

He couldn't meet Taka's eyes, afraid he'd give himself away. But the grin Taka offered him was almost blinding anyway. God damnit, Mondo thought. He was a fool after all, letting this guy get to him.   
__________ 

"… they threatened to hold me back a year," Mondo said.

It wasn't exactly a lie. That was definitely a slight danger if he got caught (a threat Taka had never followed through within the three years he'd been calling Mondo out, he realized). It just wasn't the whole truth. Mondo wasn't ready to explain all that yet. He wasn't ready to deal with it himself. Maybe once they weren't bound by the structure of school rules and the pressure of performance he would. It would be fine either way. Mondo was good at winging it. 

“... Alright, whatever you say, kiddo.” 

Daiya released him and went back to his perch, the red glow once again highlighting his face. He was smirking. Mondo scowled at him and shoved him. Then he took a deep breath and settled against the wall to spend a few minutes in silence before going back in to deal with the rest of the hooligans. After graduation… then they’d see. Mondo always meant what he said too.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, no beta, so thank you for reading <3  
> this is my first danganronpa fic! I just couldn't stop thinking about Them!


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